Daisy Chain
by Kiefercarlos
Summary: ONE SHOT: Gibbs has to care for the young girl from their current case whose father's missing.


**Disclaimer: What I would do to own this show and fix all those pesky deaths.**

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"Are you sure you'll be alright with her for the night?" Jenny asks glancing at the small child sleeping on Gibbs' shoulder. "Considering the circumstances, there really isn't any other options and I am the only one with any experience of small children." He says gently and Jenny looks at him and nods her head. "If you need anything, just let me know." She says and Gibbs smiles at her. "I will, my team are going to stay and work this case. So keep an eye on them." He says and Jenny nods as she walks with him back to the bullpen.

"If you get anything important call me." He says to the team as he collects his gear. Jenny drops down into his desk chair and gives each agent a look. "I'm leaving the director in charge, so no sleeping on the job." He says as he walks off to the elevators, he has to get home and watch over the small child in his arms.

They've been back at his place for a while and Penny has quickly started to lose interest in everything he's got here to keep her entertained. So he's not surprised when she starts to find other ways of entertaining herself.

"Can I go and play outside?" Penny asks as she pulls on the back of Gibbs' shirt. She turns to look at the back door out of which she can see the garden. Gibbs looks between her and the spaghetti on the stove. "Okay, but stay where I can see you." He says and the little girl smiles brightly up at him and when Gibbs leans over to unlock the back door, he pulls it open and lets her putter down the steps and into messy overgrown garden. She runs through the grass and then starts moving around the garden, picking up tufts of grass and throwing them in the air giggling as they fell back onto her. She would then pick up some stones or some flowers and place them into neat little piles. She looked safe enough so Gibbs could go back to cooking food.

Every time he looked up after, he found her at the bottom of the steps, playing with something in her lap. She was looking concentrated so Gibbs finished up the food and plated it up, making a child sized portion. He went to the back door and opened it up, "Penny, food's ready, come in and wash your hands please." He says gently and the little girl turns with a smile on a face and stands up and lifts something to him.

"I made a daisy chain for you." She says with enthusiasm that only a child can manage. "Thank you." He says and takes the delicate bracelet from her hand. "I'll put it up here, until after we've made food." He says and she nods her head in agreement and he leads her off to clean her hands up, before they sit down for supper.

Afterwards, Gibbs takes her up to the spare room and settles her to bed, she ask for a story, like most kids her age, with no books for her age in the house, he instead has to make up something on the spot, and it clearly must have done the job, because within ten minutes she's sleeping and Gibbs can get some sleep himself.

The following morning and Gibbs is called and told that they've located the missing Lieutenant and a squad is off to pick him up. So after he wakes Penny, he cleans her up and heads into the office, grabbing some breakfast on the way.

As they reach the bullpen Gibbs can see the Lieutenant across the room and so it would seem does Penny, because she screams in an almost deafening tone "Daddy." Gibbs quickly drops her too her feet and lets her bullet across the room towards her father, who's waiting to take her into his arms.

"Hey pumpkin." He says gently as he holds her close. Gibbs smiles over at them, always happy to see a family reunited. "I made you something." She says as the Lieutenant Jerome puts her back on her feet. She's squirms loose and runs back to Gibbs who's already pulled out the small wrapped present from his pocket. Lieutenant Jerome strides across the room, coming to stop in front of Gibbs and his daughter. She turns to him, and he holds out his uninjured arm, and she places a small tissue in his hands and he unfolds it to find a daisy chain wrapped up within.

"I made one for Mr. Gibbs and he said I should make one for you as well." She says and Jerome smiles over at Penny and leans over to place a kiss to her head. "It's lovely sweetheart. I'll put it on when we get home, yeah." He says and she nods her head and he stands up and runs a hand across her head. He faces Gibbs head on. "Thank you. I was so scared that something would happen to my baby girl." He admits sadly looking down at her as she beamed a smile back up at him.

Gibbs sticks his hand out and the two men shake. "It's what we do." Is Gibbs reply and they both smile down at Penny and the two men shake their hands, before Jerome gets to walk off with his daughter, who waves at Gibbs over her shoulder, after giving him one last hug. He watches them go and then retreats back to his desk. He carefully pulls another wrapped up package form his pocket and unfolds it, finding an identical daisy chain. He carefully opens up his bottom desk draw and places the package in the small box he has sitting there. A box holding collections from all the children he's saved over the years. Most of them would forget about him and the situations they'd been placed in, but Gibbs would never forget those kids, because it was because of him that they got to go home with their families and that's all he ever wants, is for parents and children to reunite, he'll protect every single kid if he could be sure other families wouldn't go through his agony.

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 **AN: 2 in one day. They're oldies that I'm risking posting. In need of a Beta but my need for a post out muscles it, so I threw 2 out to keep me going.**

 **Any interest in doing some Beta, drop me a line. I have folders full of one shots and beginnings of series, and I could use the help.**

 **Comment and review, tell me how much you like it.**


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